Skin Shield Test Shoot

I did a test shoot today at the location in Southampton I have found to shoot my 'skin shield' editorial. As I was just trialing the location and experimenting with different shots, I just used a friend and didn't trial the hair or makeup this time. Below are the images I ended up with, on the whole I'm really happy with the location and the test shoot has enabled me to know in advance which shots work and which don't which will save time on the day!

    

I really like the way these shots of the buildings came out, which is good as it means if I find don't have enough shots from my shoot at the Barbican in London, I can take some extra ones here on shoot day.

I really want to get an image of my model peering through this gap. I love how it means that the foreground is mostly grey, but the sharp line of the concrete cuts across the models face and the estate is visible in the background.

I also really like this location where she is sat on the steps but the buildings towel behind her with the mish mash of windows and balconies. However, when shooting this again I would like the buildings in the background to be slightly out of focus, so would use a lower f. number on the camera settings.

These are two angles which I don't feel work. Both look too 'posed' on the whole and I particularly don't like the second image with the legs dangling through the gap as it looks stiff, uncomfortable and awkward. Again, this will help me out on the day of the actual shoot as I will know what not to attempt, or I can show these images to the photographer and see if she has any idea on how to improve them. 

'Bloom' Shoot Elements: Makeup, Photography, Styling and Model Choice

'Bloom' is all about taking the stereotypically wintery berry tones and making them appropriate for skin. One of my main inspirations for this shoot was the look that Val Garland created for Preen S/S17. The look features colourful pressed flowers that have been stuck to the face and I really liked the use of berry toned flowers so began wondering if I could find a way to make berry tones wearable for Spring.

Makeup and Hair:

For the makeup, I really want to create a beautiful base with a smattering of freckles across the nose and forehead. I will incorporate the berry tones into the look by choosing a high shine rich berry nail varnish for the nails and will use a blackened raspberry toned lipstick for the lips. I want the lip colour to have soft edges and to look like a stain instead of a lipstick as this is what will make the lip wearable and give it a lighter feel for spring. I don't want to go to heavy on the eyes as I feel this may be too distracting from the dark lips and eyes. Glossy, shiny textures are quite a strong feature throughout the entire magazine as they are consistently on trend every year for spring and summer, so I want to incorporate that into this makeup look by doing a really glossy, wet look lid. As the whole magazine is about beauty that is wearable and achievable, I don't want to go too bold with the hair as I feel it will be too much as this look has a lot going on already. However I do want my model to look put together and elegant, so I think a soft, wispy, low bun will compliment the makeup perfectly.

Model:

I think this look would look beautiful on an Asian model, as I particularly love the way freckles look on Asian skin tones. To best capture the glossiness of the eye I'm looking for a model with a lot of lid space as I think this would best show it off and catch the light. Below are some images of Xiao Wen Ju as well as some of the possible models that I have found on purple port.

 

Styling:

I want to portray my inspiration image through the styling, so have found a few sheer blouses from Zara that I think could work perfectly! Although I like the flowiness of the first top, I think I prefer the second as I think that the berry tones in the flowers will tie in well with the makeup. The sheerness makes it simple and feminine, but I think the brightness of the flowers will add really springlike vibe to the whole shoot.

Photography:

With the photography for this shoot, I'm cautious that if I choose a white background, the look might look too much like an advertorial or perfume advert. I will play around with different backgrounds on the day but for now am thinking about a grey background. For the lighting I want just a simple beauty set up to begin with so we can play around with the positioning of the lights and maybe use shadow to create some depth to the images. One thing I know I will need to pay special attention to when shooting is that the freckles are being captured and aren't being washed out and disappearing. I am working with Cher again on this shoot which means I can relax about the photography and focus on the makeup, hair and overall outcome.

Image Refs:

1. Walker, J. (2016). London's Brought The Beauty Goods . [online] ELLE UK. Available at: http://www.elleuk.com/beauty/make-up/articles/a31936/londons-brought-all-the-beauty-goods/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2017].

2. Instagram post by Nikki Hinds • Dec 20, 2016 at 3:55am UTC. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BOOYHoGlakF/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

3. Emilybador.tumblr.com. (2017). EMILY BADOR. [online] Available at: http://emilybador.tumblr.com/post/120943343386/emily-bador-by-becca-nean-make-up-by-holly-dale [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

4. popsister. (2017). [online] Available at: http://popsister.tumblr.com/post/157880574666/nylon-japan [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

5. セレブがお手本! 今「ハンサムスタイル」が「美人に見える条件」です!-STYLE HAUS(スタイルハウス)

STYLE HAUS（スタイルハウス）. (2017). セレブがお手本! 今「ハンサムスタイル」が「美人に見える条件」です!-STYLE HAUS(スタイルハウス). [online] Available at: https://stylehaus.jp/articles/996/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

6. Ju, X. (2014). Xiao Wen Ju - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia. [online] Alchetron.com. Available at: https://alchetron.com/Xiao-Wen-Ju-655271-W [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

7. Nazareno, Y. (2017). By The Sea They SIng. [image] Available at: https://purpleport.com/portfolio/yani118/image/2669783/model/?referrer=layna [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

8. Nazareno, Y. (2017). By The Sea They SIng. [image] Available at: https://purpleport.com/portfolio/yani118/image/2669783/model/?referrer=layna [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

9. Zara.com. (2017). EMBROIDERED TULLE TOP - View All-TOPS-WOMAN | ZARA United Kingdom. [online] Available at: https://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/tops/view-all/embroidered-tulle-top-c719021p4329537.html [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

10. Zara.com. (2017). EMBROIDERED TULLE T - SHIRT-Long sleeve-T-SHIRTS-WOMAN | ZARA United Kingdom. [online] Available at: https://www.zara.com/uk/en/woman/t-shirts/long-sleeve/embroidered-tulle-t-shirt-c401009p4249084.html [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

'Seasonal Update: SS17' Shoot Elements: Makeup, Photography, Styling and Model Choice

Seasonal Update: SS17 is an article about how to update your beauty routine for Spring, that will be accompanied by an editorial story. I want the story to reflect the content of the article, while still having an editorial edge that makes it more than just a makeup look you would wear every day.

Makeup & Hair

The article talks about using dewy, pink toned product to create a fresh, youthful, radiant look, so this is what I will be doing on my model for the shoot, but with an editorial edge. To take the look away from the everyday and give it an extra springlike twist, I will be using pressed flowers and sticking them onto the face, under the eyes and potentially up onto the forehead. One of my inspirations is Val Garlands use of pressed flowers for the Preen SS17 show (image below). However, as scheme of the magazine is very minimal and neutral, I will be using a mixture of white, pink and green flowers to reflect the colour palette. As for the hair, I want to create a feminine up-do or chignon with loose curls falling around the face to frame it. Something I want to try is actually placing some real flowers in the hair too (like the fifth inspiration image below), but i'm not sure if this might just overpower the look. I did consider slicking the hair back completely, but feel this would be too harsh against the softness of the rest of the makeup and want to create a style that would actually be wearable for Spring.

Model

For this shoot I really want to find a model with pale skin, blonde hair and fine features. I think being quite naturally pale would benefit this look as it is all about looking fresh faced with pink cheeks, instead of tanned. To create my desired style, I really need someone with quite long hair so that the curled pieces frame the face nicely and fall onto the shoulders. 

These are images of the model I have found to use on purpleport: 

Styling:

I really like the idea of the flowers continuing down the body and being placed under a mesh body, like seen in the inspiration below. I have found a plain, nude mesh body from Zara to try this out with at my test shoot. If this doesn't work out how I imagine, then I will just be shooting close ups of the face and will get the model to wear a strapless vest so her shoulders are bare and remove any jewellery she is wearing. 

Lighting and Photography:

As we can only book four hours at once in the studios, time is valuable and so when I need to focus on the hair and makeup, it makes it easier to work with a confident photographer that can help me set up and that I know will help me achieve good results. I messaged a few people on photography courses on Facebook and have found a student called Cher who is happy to help on all my upcoming shoots which is great as I would rather use one person throughout. This shoot only requires very basic beauty lighting but I have sent her my inspiration images to give a better idea of what we are trying to achieve. I think it is a good idea to do a test shoot together beforehand, so have a look at the results and see what needs changing, so we have booked that in for next week. 

1. Orofino, E. (2016). MAC's Beauty Look on the Preen Runway Took Spring Florals to the Next Level. [online] POPSUGAR Beauty UK. Available at: https://www.popsugar.co.uk/beauty/Hair-Makeup-Preen-Spring-2017-42425200?utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=US:GB&utm_source=uk.pinterest.com [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

2. S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. (2017). [online] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/33/7b/57/337b573d8f835f35b6a5bb42edd075ca.jpg [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

3. hipsthetic. (2017). hipsthetic. [online] Available at: http://hipsthetic.tumblr.com/post/149758320429 [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

4. Pinterest. (2017). Dior Couture SS17. [online] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/502995852118683004/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

5. Annalawska.com. (2017). Anna Ławska - JEWELLERY. [online] Available at: http://www.annalawska.com/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

6. Lou Bradford. (2017). Lou Bradford. [online] Available at: http://www.loubradford.com/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

7. goop. (2017). Godfrey’s Guide: Non-Toxic Hair Color Miracle #2. [online] Available at: http://goop.com/godfreys-guide-non-toxic-hair-color-miracle-2/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

8.  Hunt, F. (2017). Portfolio Image. [image] Available at: goop. (2017). Godfrey’s Guide: Non-Toxic Hair Color Miracle #2. [online] Available at: http://goop.com/godfreys-guide-non-toxic-hair-color-miracle-2/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017]. [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

9.  Hunt, F. (2017). Portfolio Image. [image] Available at: https://purpleport.com/portfolio/fleurlouisehunt/image/2730024/model/?referrer=layna [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

10. kleidersachen. (2017). [online] Available at: http://kleidersachen.tumblr.com/post/109132397569/bienenkiste-photographed-by-raffaele-cariou-for [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].

Possible locations for 'Skin Shield' editorial

When envisioning my B&W beauty editorial, I know I want it to be shot in an urban, city environment and the harsh lines and shapes of brutalist architecture really appeal to me. I particularly love how the buildings look when shot in black and white so this style of architecture is perfect for this editorial. Below are some inspiration images for the editorial.

  

One of the best-known examples of brutalism is the Barbican Estate in London. Built during the 60's and 70's, the estate is now Grade II listed. As I want the editorial to feature abstract shots of the buildings as well as images of the model on location, I am thinking of visiting the Barbican to photograph some of the buildings. This means I could use the buildings for some of the abstract shots but without the complications and expense of getting a model to London. I'll then shoot the rest of the shots at a location in Southampton. 

The location in Southampton that I'm hoping to shoot at is Wyndham Court. This is the best example of Brutalist architecture in Southampton and is also Grade II listed. It's really close to my flat and the train station which makes it a really convenient location for the shoot. 

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/39280005@N02/10892918986

http://www.archdaily.com/790453/ad-classics-barbican-estate-london-chamberlin-powell-bon

http://openbuildings.com/buildings/barbican-estate-profile-6373

https://brutalistconstructions.com/2015/03/12/wyndham-court-southampton/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/33672038@N05/5021676846

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41779409.html

Tutorial With Sharon 24/03/17

Spoke to Sharon today and showed her my work so far. I was feeling very panicked that I haven't done enough yet as I still have to shoot most of my content, but I showed her the outcome of my first shoot and she said she liked the images and felt they fitted the theme of the article well. I also showed her my location shoot at the Barbican which will be part of the editorial story accompanying my article on pollution and how it harms our skin and she gave me feedback on which images worked and which didn't. I talked through my plans for the articles as I was really worried that I didn't have enough content and she told me to relax and that as I am producing almost every element myself, that I shouldn't stress myself out by comparing my work to others.

Mid Way Presentation Feedback 22/03/17

I did my mid way presentation today with Anna and Russel. Both seemed pleased with my idea, page layout mock-ups and first shoot and said I seem to have enough content for the magazine. The main feedback that I received was to look into externally hosting my magazine on a site like Issuu and embedding in onto my web page. This should give the publication a more professional feel and ensure that it looks good on no matter what device it is viewed on.

Location shoot at the Barbican Estate

Yesterday I visited the Barbican Estate in London to take to images to give setting and context to my editorials. Having extra images to support the main beauty/fashion shoot which will take place in Southampton will give me more options to play around with when designing the page. I shot the images just before the sun went in as I wanted quite a dark, shadowy contrast to the images and have put them all in black and white. Looking back at the images now and comparing them to my inspiration images, I am very happy with them, however, will be brightening them slightly and upping the contrast to achieve the same effect seen in my inspiration images. When shooting in Southampton  I will be sure to shoot at a similar time of day in order to achieve similar lighting conditions, ensuring these images fit and flow with the rest of the shoot.